Words and music
Triumph in the face of adversity figures prominently in new works by Concordia alumni
By Marco Buttice, BA 21
Pretty Weird: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome and Other Oddly Empowering Lessons (Simon & Schuster, $32), by acclaimed writer Marissa Miller, BA 13, contains a series of relatable and heart-wrenching true stories about her Jewish upbringing, battling selfdoubt and learning to be proud to stand out.
Co-authored by Emily Anglin, MA 06, Devon Code, MA 07, Jean Marc Ah-Sen and Lee Henderson, Disintegration in Four Parts (Coach House Books, $21.95) centres on the problematic concept of purity.
Wildly different in style and subject matter, the novellas in this fiction anthology provide a complete view of a subject matter that has never felt so urgent.
A writer of over a dozen books, Stephen Henighan, MA 86, recently published The World of After (Cormorant Books, $24.95).
In this novel, historical change opens up the possibility of self-discovery for Kevin, an Anglo-Montrealer struggling to redeem a friendship he betrayed as a graduate student at the University of Oxford in the early 1990s.
The World That Was Mine (self-published) from Louis Leprohon, BA 64, includes 15 outstanding paintings (with an additional 86 colour visuals) by Marcel Dargis.
The book serves as a catalogue for museum exhibitions that feature the Quebec artist’s work. Each painting conveys an accurate recollection and interpretation of life in Quebec through the years.
Ceilidh Michelle, BA 20, writes of outrunning family turmoil and homelessness in the new memoir Vagabond: Venice Beach, Slab City and Points in Between (Douglas & McIntyre, $22.95).
As she drifts through the California coast and finds community with other travellers, Michelle’s peripatetic lifestyle becomes a habit she can’t break. Told with deadpan humour and insightful lyricism, Vagabond is an observant and at times shimmering narrative suspended between a traumatic past and an unimagined future.
In The Fight for Autism Treatment in Canada (Kindle Direct Publishing, $5.99), Andrew Kavchak, BA 85, details his son’s diagnosis with the disorder and a historical overview of the varying efforts by numerous organizations and individuals to help improve access to autism treatment across the country.
Arnold Zageris, BSc 69, published Iceland: Born of Lava Chiseled by Ice (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, $60), in which the photographer explores less visited and undiscovered features of the country.
It is an opportunistic and compelling portrait of the small island nation, which Zageris calls a “photographer’s paradise.”
Mark David Gerson, BComm 75, recently added a fourth story to his Legend of Q’ntana fantasy series.
The Bard of Bryn Doon (Kobo, $10.99) takes place many generations after the end of third installment The SunQuest, when a young bard embarks on a perilous journey to save Q’ntana from an evil sorcerer and return the fabled Stallions of Bryn Doon to their mystical home.
In his latest book, Skiing in the Eye of the Artist (Egoth Verlang, $25), E. John B. Allen, BA 65, curates a collection of images, paintings, drawings, lithographs and cartoons depicting the art of skiing.
Allen, a historian at the New England Ski Museum, highlights works dating from 1867 to the early 21st century by artists around the world. The book is also available in German.
Cecil Rhodes and Other Statues: Dealing Plainly with the Past (Gatekeeper Press, $15.95) by economist Robert Calderisi, BA 68, LLD 17, focuses on a pivotal and controversial figure of the British Empire and Europe’s colonial period.
Calderisi’s account relates the history of the Rhodes scholarships and offers guidelines on how to commemorate contested historical actors.
L’Égaré (Glénat, $39.95) by Ryan Barnett, MA 13, and comic illustrator Dmitry Bondarenko, is an adventure-fuelled nonfiction account about a French crew’s 1956 attempt to traverse the Atlantic Ocean by raft.
Archival photography and film stills taken aboard the raft, along with news reports and contemporary interviews, round out the retelling
Pierre Hurteau, MA 84, PhD 91, published a new book, Le Québec, terre d’hospitalité? Réflexions sur l’accueil de l’étranger (L’Harmattan, $34.95), that addresses the topic of immigration and examines society’s obligations to newcomers within the context of contemporary Quebec.
Pop vocalist and songwriter December Rose (stage name of Rosie La Posta, BFA 14) released a new album in 2021 entitled Raise Your Voice (Slammin Media, iTunes price $8.99).
A six-part docuseries, December Rose – Up Close and Personal, was created in support of the project, which deals with themes of hardship and healing. According to Rose, “the album is about real life. It looks at the before, during and after phases of recovery from abuse and mental unwellness.”